Sweet Musings: Pregnancy - Week 22!

Hi, friends! I know it's been quiet here the past week, and as you may remember I went on a road trip to Alabama from last Friday to Monday. And what a trip it was!! I've made this drive, by myself, several times before. And it's never been an issue. Some people think, 13 hours in a car?? and that I'm crazy for making the trip at all, let alone by myself. But here's the thing folks...I drive a lot on a regular basis. Maybe not long distances, but I'm in my car driving for at the very least a couple of hours each day. Austin traffic is awful, in case you hadn't heard. So...12-13 hours in a car, actually moving is a piece of cake. Usually. Making the drive 5 1/2 months pregnant is a whole other ball game, my friends.

Not that it was horrible, because it wasn't. The weather was very nice to me this time, unlike my last trip which took me through torrential downpours in Louisiana and Mississippi. It was sunny, and leaving at 4 am (yes, I said 4 am) meant that I missed any traffic in Houston that I was scared I might hit, and it was smooth sailing from there. On a typical road trip I make minimal stops. I'm fortunate to have vehicles that get good gas mileage, so if I fill up before I leave I usually only need to stop once for gas. Maybe a second time right at the end of the drive. So, I try to stop only a couple of times. You know...get food and use the bathroom when I stop for gas, etc.

That works well for me and decreases my travel time. Usually.

Let's just say that my bladder and my aching legs and rear-end had other plans. My normal 1-2 stops turned into 4-5 stops. My 12-hour trip turned into 13 hours. My body definitely felt different during this trip. I drove to Florida last May (with one of my besties) and J and I drove to Colorado the week after Christmas and it as a breeze. I convinced myself that this trip would be no different. But alas, the changes that pregnancy makes to your body are real, y'all. And I'm not complaining. Not even a bit. It was just...different. I have to realize and accept that I just can't do everything the way I always have. I get tired. My feet start to hurt. And so on. But I wouldn't change it for the world. This little tater girl baking away inside of me is the biggest blessing I will ever have in this life, and I have been doubly blessed with a very easy pregnancy thus far.

We had our anatomy scan appointment the Wednesday before my trip and it went very well. Little miss had her hands covering her face most of the time so we didn't get a good look at her face, but they did get a pretty good profile shot of her, after poking at my belly a bit to get her to move those tiny little hands.

 How cute is she?? And definitely not a little gummy bear anymore. She is every bit a little person now. Of course this particular pic doesn't show all of her...but she has cute little arms, legs, hands and feet. And we're pretty sure her mama's nose. Guess we'll find out for sure in a few months, right??

She's moving around like crazy these days, and J got to feel her move for the first time on Monday night. It's such a surreal sensation, especially for me since I can feel her inside and outside at the same time. I wish I could see what she's doing. Know what it is I'm feeling...is she kicking, stretching, turning? What part of her am I feeling?? Now that J has felt her a couple of times (it's harder for him to detect right now, since the movements are still somewhat subtle), he tries to get her to move so he can feel her all the time. Soon enough, I'm sure this mama will be asking her to calm down with the kicking!! But right now, we're enjoying every little wiggle. And she wiggles a lot.

I told J she's going to love country music like her mama (much to his dismay) because boy-oh-boy was she wiggling around  at the concert Saturday! When I finally made it to Alabama, I met up with two of the girls from my cooking board at the hotel (one of them is also pregnant!), and we got ready to go to dinner. A cute little place in Auburn, and we sat outside since the weather was nice. It was great to chat and hang out, and the food was good - of course!

Saturday we headed down to the Auburn campus to get  parked and walk around a bit before we had lunch. We knew the crowds were going to be crazy, so figured it was better to get an early start. Auburn has a really cute little downtown area, lots of little shops and restaurants, and the campus is beautiful. And yes, there were tons of people. I think I heard there were 80,000 in attendance at the concert. That is insane.

I'm not really a crowd person, so once we got in and got to our seats, I did not leave them. Not once. Thankfully my bladder was kind to me and from 5pm - 11pm, I sat right there on those aluminum stadium seats. Well, I had to stand a few times because...ouch. But otherwise, I stayed put. The concert was amazing. Old Dominion, Sam Hunt (one of my favs!), Miranda Lambert, and of course, Kenney Chesney. I came home rocking an awesome (not) tan line from the shirt and cardigan I wore that day. Farmer's tan doesn't even begin to describe the ridiculousness that are my "tan" lines.Ugh.

The entire stadium was FULL. And the floor area, too.

It took forever to get out of the parking lot, and by the time we got back to the hotel, I was way past pooped. I hit the pillow and was out. We woke up early to head out the next morning, and I started making my way to see my brother and his family about an hour away. I haven't seen them in almost three years now, so I was beyond excited. I made a quick stop to get the kids a little something, then was on my way. It was a great visit, and too short as always. I cried like a baby when I drove away, like I always do. Ugh. And then the loooooong drive home on Monday. But I missed J and the pups, so as sad as I was to leave my family and as tired as I was by the time I got home, it was nice to be there with them and in my own bed again. All-in-all, it was a fantastic trip and I'm so glad I went! And Tater girl had her first trip to Alabama and her first concert!